Housing without harming the countryside

People write to me all the time who have grown up in Faversham and can no longer afford to live here so we do need new homes.

The problem is the scale of the development proposed.

Anyone who lives around Maidstone knows there are serious traffic problems in the town.

I've called on Maidstone Borough Council to tackle our grid-locked roads as part of their new Local Plan.

Like many people, I’m extremely concerned by some of the proposals for Swale Borough Council’s new Local Plan.

I know local residents are hugely concerned about plans for 2,000 new homes around Lidsing.

People are worried about traffic getting worse on local roads, pressure on services, and the loss of a much-loved open space & "green lung" for the local community. 

I’m bitterly disappointed that Maidstone Borough Council has decided to go ahead with the Heathlands and Lidsing Garden Villages.

Swale Borough Council has announced major changes to how their new Local Plan will be developed.

The Council published a draft Local Plan earlier this year, which included proposals to build 4,000 new houses in Faversham and the surrounding villages.

Thank you to everyone who took part in my survey on Swale Borough Council's Local Plan.

The results are in, and it's clear there is a huge amount of frustration and sadness at what is being proposed. 

Faversham and the surrounding villages face the prospect of 4,000 more houses.

The scale of the proposals in Swale Borough Council’s draft Local Plan is hard to exaggerate.

In my submission to Maidstone Borough Council’s Local Plan consultation, I stressed the need to strike a balance between protecting the countryside and providing the new homes people need.